Thursday, November 11, 2010

Draft (2.2) Beyond Vietnam With Dr. King


“We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East Harlem“(3). As presented in “Beyond Vietnam”, Dr. King argues that stereotyping and racist ideologies of life in America is very coincidental to life in Vietnam. It is fairly coincidental because Americans and all types of citizens that live in the U.S. do feel or have a sense of belief to think the ideology of war is corrupt, but we as individuals still maintain to allow racial warfare on the grounds that we call our holy land cease to exist. We live the stereotype and hype of being segregated in Dr. King's era but let alone we contradict ourselves as human beings in society and send our children of all races and all different shades of black and white overseas to fight a battle that is similar to the trials and tribulations that they face each and every day on their homeland. Could it be possible that the mere coincidence that is in effect Dr. King sees a bigger picture to it? Of Course he does! Who am I to say that coincidences just as of this doesn’t happen everyday. It may be a lot more relevant in today’s time than it was during the time King gave this speech in 1967 but who is to say that Americans are better to judge one race such as the Vietnamese when we judge our own fellow soldiers in war off and on the battlefield; just because the color of their skin is different from our own or they hold different beliefs and come from a different culture that is different from what we are used to.
When you think about it, it all remains the same no matter how you look at it or how you try to interpret it. We can fight in a war outside of the United States but we can’t seem to come to a means of coming together as one and halting the injustice that lies on the grounds of our home. Where is the justice in that? Where is the hope in that? Are we against fighting a war that harms and kills the innocent or are we for that adrenaline rush and the thrill of killing those that have not done or shown harm to us? What makes more sense to the eyes of the beholders or the higher authority in office that makes that decision in allowing us to engage in a war? Is this really what America is about? Abusing the power we strived for to hurt those less than ourselves. Is it that hard for us to believe in Dr. King's ideology of non-violence or is mankind just equip to be violent. I find it funny how humans in general contradict themselves and over analyze situations that we as a community are not held accountable for as a whole but as a society. We are quick to judge our own race and label them as such; but were just as quick to dish out advice or judge another race for engaging in the same cruel activities that we as a nation try to justify and make excuses for. Some people would say racism in America is a way of life. That it's based and fed upon the emotions and ideologies that certain races hold themselves accountable for. I say racism in America is unjust and simply uncalled for. It goes beyond just the United States as a nation but touches down to countries and nations all over the world. It allows us to not be able to progress and grow from within, but continues to allow us to slowly revert and move backwards instead of moving forward as people that share one common interest "Equality".

1 comment:

  1. Hi Nyashia - As we discussed, keep working on focusing your second paragraph by grounding it in the text - what *specific* argument about Vietnam and racism is King making, and are you making?

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